“The sound isn’t coming from behind the door…”
The moment Ling Mo stepped into the corridor, he had already noticed something unusual about the noises.
But after confirming that there were no irregularities at either end of the corridor or within the walls, he naturally turned his attention to the areas adjacent to the corridor. However, now that he stood here, he could faintly sense a weak vibration…
“Is it just my imagination?”
Frowning, Ling Mo took two steps forward, then stepped back again.
Two seconds later, he simply crouched down, placing his palm on the ground and moving it slowly.
“What is he up to now?” Tang Hao and Xiao Bai followed behind, maintaining a distance of about five meters from Ling Mo. Tang Hao’s gaze darkened as he stared at Ling Mo, yet his eyes couldn’t help but track his every move.
“He said it himself-there are only two minutes left. So why is he wasting time here?” Tang Hao thought to himself, irritation creeping in.
From the moment they arrived at this building, Ling Mo’s actions had been shrouded in unpredictability… “Since he acted based on my intelligence, why isn’t he following my suggestions? Avoiding risks, choosing the fastest route and plan of action-I already hinted at all of that, didn’t I? There’s no time for him to second-guess anything!”
Tang Hao clenched his fists tightly, a faint expression of agony flickering across his face. “The injuries are too severe… Even just stopping the bleeding is difficult, making it impossible to conserve energy… Given the current situation, the best choice is to continue cooperating with him until the internal bleeding stabilizes. Maybe then I’ll figure out a way to escape. But if I keep being used as a canary like this, I’ll eventually die here… Stay calm. Don’t lose your temper. Think of a plan…”
“There’s definitely something here.” Ling Mo suddenly made a small exclamation, pulling Tang Hao back to his senses.
“Tang Hao, what’s beneath this spot?” Ling Mo asked, looking up.
“Probably… nothing,” Tang Hao responded.
“Is that so?” Ling Mo nodded thoughtfully, turning his attention back to the ground.
There was indeed a vibration-a faint sensation emanating from below. And every time it occurred, it coincided exactly with the sound of the door rattling. That couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
“If I use a tentacle… there’s no guarantee it’ll pierce through the concrete layer, and it might also alert them,” Ling Mo thought to himself. Suddenly, he straightened up, bracing his hands on his knees, and turned his head to quickly ask, “What about other places? Around this building or other sections of it-is there anything like a basement?”
“There might be a distribution room? I’m not sure. When I saw it earlier, it hadn’t been fully constructed…” Tang Hao, startled by Ling Mo’s sudden question, quickly replied.
“Where is it?” Ling Mo pressed.
Tang Hao thought for a moment and pointed to the door behind Ling Mo. “Should be through there…”
“Let’s go,” Ling Mo decided.
“Go to the distribution room, now?” Tang Hao froze again. “What about the plan-“
Before he could finish, Ling Mo suddenly raised his hand and swung it. A deafening crash followed as the ladder hit the ground with a heavy thud.
“Are you kidding me?! I just had a near heart attack!” Tang Hao flinched involuntarily, his whole body jolting.
Even Xiao Bai raised a paw, but judging by its happily wagging stubby tail, it was clearly reacting to the noise in a much different way than Tang Hao. 𝐫𝐚ΝȰᛒÊꞨ
“The plan is your business. My job is to mess up your plan, not to follow it,” Ling Mo said, dusting off his hands as if nothing had happened.
Tang Hao clenched his teeth in frustration. He had been certain Ling Mo had no other options, but it turned out that when Ling Mo said “disrupt,” he literally meant doing so by sheer force!
The method was simple, but in highly urgent situations, those caught up in the moment-like Tang Hao-would often overlook such straightforward solutions.
That said, this tactic came with significant risks, especially in an eerie corridor like this, where making such a loud commotion could attract all sorts of trouble…
“Don’t drag me down with you if you want to die!” Tang Hao cursed inwardly.
“Now we can move,” Ling Mo said, pulling open the door.
Before stepping through, he turned and glanced at Tang Hao, adding, “Don’t hold back your blood anymore. Leave your companions some breadcrumbs, will you?”
“Damn it!” Tang Hao fumed with indignation.
To be fair, he had been suppressing his coughing fits the entire way here, mainly because they were getting closer and closer to the zombie-infested main streets.
As for here… he really didn’t want to spit up any blood.
But even if he held it in, there was no way to completely hide the overwhelming stench of blood clinging to him or the occasional droplets that seeped out and dripped from his boots. That was beyond his control.
So from Tang Hao’s perspective, Ling Mo’s comment felt like pure provocation-nothing short of an insult!
“Or… was it a warning? Did he figure something out?”
As they passed over the section of the ground Ling Mo had investigated earlier, Tang Hao couldn’t help but glance down.
His legs wobbled slightly as if he were suspended midair, but from this angle, apart from a few scuff marks on the surface, there didn’t appear to be anything unusual.
“True, it’s not something easily noticeable. Unless, like us, someone already knows what to look for…” Tang Hao thought to himself. “Then again, the most critical part of the plan, he probably won’t fully grasp until the very last moment. They all say that even a strong outsider can’t outmatch a local tyrant. Sure, his strength gives him an edge, but compared to us, he’s still missing quite a few things…”
A faint sneer formed in Tang Hao’s mind. Yet, for some reason, as time passed, a small seed of doubt began to sprout within him. He even started to suspect his current thoughts might just be a form of self-consolation.
“No! I have to survive… At this point, I absolutely have to make it out alive…”
Sweat began to bead on Tang Hao’s forehead as these thoughts consumed him. Slowly, he clenched his fingers, feeling his nails dig into his skin. Unable to stop himself, he cast a sideways glance down the corridor. “Those people… do they even realize what’s happening?”
…
Shortly after Ling Mo, Tang Hao, and Xiao Bai left the area, a silhouette emerged and appeared in front of the door located in the central region of the corridor.
The figure cautiously peered inside before frowning and pulling back.
“What’s the situation?” someone behind him asked.
“Didn’t see anyone. Looks like something fell over,” the figure replied.
“Could it be those survivors?”
“Not likely…”
“Search the area thoroughly. It’s impossible for zombies to be here. If something’s off, it has to involve humans. Everything’s already in place for the setup-we can’t let it be destroyed.”
“Wait…” the first figure suddenly said, “If it really is those survivors, wouldn’t that be perfect?”
“But if there’s only a few of them, it wouldn’t matter, would it?” someone further back responded.
“True… Let’s stay together. No sense splitting up-let’s look for them together.”